


A favor for an old friend

by sixbeforelunch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cosplay, Gen, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 20:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1616507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixbeforelunch/pseuds/sixbeforelunch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Fury was looking at her over his sunglasses. It was somehow even more disconcerting than his famous one-eyed glare, the one that had sent many a Level One agent into a bathroom stall for a good long cry. 'Dare I ask?'"</p>
            </blockquote>





	A favor for an old friend

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this. I don't know what it is, but I wrote it and it amuses me. Maybe it will amuse you too.

This was ridiculous. Fury was not the Director of SHIELD. Natasha was not an agent of SHIELD. SHIELD did not even exist anymore.

So why did she feel like she was giving the after-action report for a mission that had gone more than usually pear-shaped?

Fury was looking at her over his sunglasses. It was somehow even more disconcerting than his famous one-eyed glare, the one that had sent many a Level One agent into a bathroom stall for a good long cry. "Dare I ask?"

"Your contact refused to meet me anywhere other than the convention center," Natasha said. She picked at some glitter that was clinging stubbornly to the ends of her hair before giving up in frustration. One of the other cosplayers must have rubbed off on her, and she would be picking glitter off of her person for weeks. The stuff was impossible to get rid of completely. It really was the herpes of the costuming world.

"I decided to dress the part," she added, gesturing to her outfit. She'd gone to the con as Leeloo, mainly because she had already had a suitable wig at a nearby bolt hole, and putting together the rest of the outfit had been relatively easy, with a last minute sewing assist from a few local cosplayers she'd met in a Starbucks down the street from the convention center.

"I hadn't yet made contact when I noticed a teenage girl dressed like...well, like me." Not that her Black Widow costume had played any part in what followed. Natasha would have come to her aid just as readily had she been yet another Disney princess. Her good taste simply made Natasha like her more. "She was being harassed by a couple of men. I decided to intervene. The men who were harassing her decided to focus on me instead. After that, things got fun."

Fury's mouth quirked into a tiny smile. It was the one that said, _Everyone thinks I'm dead and I don't have to listen to anyone in an over-priced, ill-fitting suit complain about this._

"You have an unusual definition of fun," Fury said. "Now, did you get what I asked you to get?"

Natasha pulled the item out of her bag. "Dare _I_ ask?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Natasha looked at Fury, looked at the vintage 1974 Spock (mint in box). It was tempting to believe that Fury just had a passion for retro toys, but that was far too simple an explanation for a man who was decidedly not. "Maybe another time," she said.

A fire engine went by. Fury cocked his head to one side. Natasha shrugged. The fire, in her defense, had not been her fault.

"You should probably get out of the area," Fury said. "The city, actually." A helicopter flew by overhead. "Maybe the state."

Natasha smiled. "I don't really care for California anyway." She turned to go.

"Natasha!" She looked back. "Thank you. For the favor."

She inclined her head. "You're welcome," Natasha said, and disappeared into the crowd.


End file.
